Magnetic ink reader and printer having the same

ABSTRACT

A magnetic ink reader includes a conveyance mechanism for a sheet, a magnetizing mechanism configured to magnetize magnetic ink on the sheet and including a magnet having a first side of a first magnetic polarity, that is arranged to face a first surface of the sheet, and a yoke that is formed of a soft magnetic material and includes a base portion attached directly to a second side of the magnet, and an extension portion extending from the base portion such that an end surface of the extension portion faces a second surface of the sheet, and a magnetic detection head along the conveyance path and configured to detect magnetism of the magnetized magnetic ink on the sheet. A first distance between the conveyance path and the first side of the magnet is less than a second distance between the conveyance path and the end surface of the yoke.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority fromJapanese Patent Application No. 2017-172308, filed in Sep. 7, 2017, theentire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to a magnetic ink reader that readsmagnetic ink characters and a printer having the same.

BACKGROUND

Magnetic ink character recognition (MICR) characters may be printed on afront surface of a medium such as a bill or a check. Such MICRcharacters are read by a magnetic ink reader as follows. When the mediumis inserted into the reader, a magnet magnetizes the MICR characters.Then, an MICR head, which is magnetic detection head, detects a residualmagnetic field generated by residual magnetism of the MICR characters,and identifies the MICR characters from a magnetic property or amagnetic pattern of the detected magnetic field. From the MICRcharacters, bills and checks can be distinguished.

Such a magnetic ink reader is incorporated in an ATM or a POS printer100 as illustrated in FIG. 1, for example. In FIG. 1, P represents asheet-like medium such as a bill or a check, and K represents aconveyance path of the medium P. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of themedium P. The medium P includes a sheet-like medium body Pa. CharactersPb and MICR characters Pc are printed on the medium body Pa by normalink and magnetic ink, respectively.

In the printer 100, a magnet 101, an MICR head 102, a feed roller 103and a pinch roller 104, and an inkjet head 105 and a platen 106 arearranged along the conveyance path K from the left side in FIG. 1. Inaddition, the printer 100 is provided with a motor 110 configured todrive the feed roller 103 and a gear mechanism 111 configured totransmit torque of the motor 110.

As the magnet 101, a powerful permanent magnet is used to stablymagnetize the MICR character Pc. The magnetic field of the magnet 101has such a property that lines of magnetic force generated from an Npole cause the side surface of the magnet to turn around and become an Spole. Therefore, the magnetic force is the strongest near the magnetic101. Further, the magnet 101 and the MICR head 102 are providedcorresponding to the position of the MICR character Pc of the medium Pto be conveyed on the conveyance path K.

The printer 100 performs reading by magnetizing the MICR character Pcand detecting the residual magnetic field. In such a printer 100, sincereading the MICR character Pc is required to be accurate, magnetizationis also required to be performed accurately.

In order to stably magnetize the MICR character Pc, the MICR characterPc is passed in the vicinity of the magnet 101 to magnetize the MICRcharacter with a powerful magnetic force. Since the magnetic force ofthe magnetic field varies greatly depending on position, the relativeposition between the MICR character Pc and the magnet 101 needs to beadjusted with high accuracy.

However, since the motor 110 configured to convey the medium P is in thevicinity of the magnet 101, vibration of the motor 110 may betransmitted to the magnet 101 or the MICR head 102. When the vibrationis transmitted to the magnet 101, the relative position between themagnet 101 and the MICR character Pc fluctuates, and a magnetizing forcewith respect to the MICR character Pc also sometimes fluctuates. Sincethe fluctuation of the magnetizing force appears as fluctuation in themagnetic property or the magnetic pattern to be detected by the MICRhead 102, the fluctuation has an impact on reading accuracy.

The magnet 101 with a powerful magnetic force may be used to offset thefluctuation. However, since the distance between the magnet 101 and theMICR head 102 is about 4 to 5 cm, the magnetic force of the magnet 101may affect the reading accuracy of the MICR head 102.

Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus which is capable of readingmagnetic ink to be printed on a medium with high accuracy.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram of a printer incorporating a conventional magneticink reader.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a medium on which magnetic ink is printed.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a printer incorporating a magnetic ink readeraccording to an embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a magnetizing mechanism incorporatedin the magnetic ink reader according to the embodiment taken along lineA-A in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the magnetizing mechanism ofthe embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the magnetizing mechanism of theembodiment taken along line B-B in FIG. 5.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Embodiments provide a magnetic ink reader capable of performing stablemagnetization of magnetic ink characters to be read, even in thepresence of external disturbance such as vibration of a motor within aprinter that employs such a magnetic ink reader.

In general, according to one embodiment, a magnetic ink reader includesa conveyance mechanism configured to convey a sheet-like medium along aconveyance path, a magnetizing mechanism configured to magnetizemagnetic ink formed on the sheet-like medium conveyed thereto along theconveyance path and including a magnet having a first side of a firstmagnetic polarity, that is arranged to face a first surface of thesheet-like medium that is conveyed along the conveyance mechanism to themagnetizing mechanism, and a yoke that is formed of a soft magneticmaterial and includes a base portion attached directly to a second sideof the magnet, which is opposite to the first side, and an extensionportion extending from the base portion such that an end surface of theextension portion faces a second surface of the sheet-like medium, whichis opposite to the first surface, and a magnetic detection head disposedalong the conveyance path and configured to detect magnetism of themagnetized magnetic ink formed on the sheet-like medium. A firstdistance between the conveyance path and the first side of the magnet isless than a second distance between the conveyance path and the endsurface of the yoke.

An embodiment will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a diagram of a printer 10 incorporating a magnetic ink reader50 according to the embodiment. The printer 10 is installed in an ATM ofa bank or a POS (Point Of Sales) terminal of a store or a warehouse. Inthe drawings, P represents a sheet-like medium such as a bill, a check,or a gift certificate, and K represents a conveyance path of the mediumP. As shown in FIG. 2, the medium P includes a sheet-like medium bodyPa. Characters Pb and MICR characters Pc are printed on the medium bodyPa by normal ink and magnetic ink, respectively. The printer 10 includesa housing 11. The conveyance path K is formed inside the housing 11. Ata right end of the conveyance path K in FIG. 3, a slot 12 is providedthrough which the medium P is inserted from and ejected to the outside.When the printer 10 is used, a front surface of a medium on whichmagnetic ink is previously printed is inserted face down in FIG. 3.

The housing 11 accommodates a control unit 20 (e.g., a control circuit,a conveyance mechanism 40, a magnetic ink reader 50, and a printingmechanism 90 therein, and the printing mechanism 90 is provided closerto the slot 12 compared with the magnetic ink reader 50. The controlunit 20 controls the conveyance mechanism 40, the magnetic ink reader50, and the printing mechanism 90.

The conveyance mechanism 40 forms the conveyance path K, through whichthe sheet-like medium P printed with magnetic ink is conveyed, with aplurality of rollers including a feed roller 41 and a pinch roller 42.The conveyance mechanism 40 includes a motor 43 and a gear mechanism 44configured to transmit torque of the motor 43 to each of the roller.

The magnetic ink reader 50 includes a magnetizing mechanism 60 tomagnetize the magnetic ink of the medium P on the conveyance path K andan MICR head 70. The MICR head 70 is disposed at a downstream side ofthe conveyance path K of the magnetizing mechanism 60, about 4 to 5 cmaway from the magnetizing mechanism 60. The MICR head 70 reads magnetismof the magnetized magnetic ink.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the magnetizing mechanism 60 includes a magnet61 in which one polar surface (e.g., an N pole surface) faces the frontsurface of the medium P. A yoke member 62 is L-shaped and is directlyattached to the other polar surface (e.g., an S pole surface) of themagnet 61. The yoke member 62 is formed of a soft magnetic material, forexample, electrogalvanized steel or permalloy which is inexpensive andsuitable.

The yoke member 62 includes a base portion 62 a attached to the S polesurface of the magnet 61, and an extension portion 62 b that extendsfrom the base portion 62 a to the other surface side of the medium Pwhile straddling the conveyance path K, and a facing portion 62 c thatfaces an N pole of the magnet 61 so as to sandwich the medium P from theextension portion 62 b. By the yoke member 62, an S pole is generated inthe facing portion 62 c.

A distance δ2 between a rear surface of the medium P and the facingportion 62 c is formed to be larger than a distance δ1 between the frontsurface of the medium P and the N pole of the magnet 61.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating the magnetizing mechanismaccording to the embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of themagnetizing mechanism of the embodiment taken along line B-B in FIG. 5as viewed in a direction indicated by an arrow.

As illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6, at least a part of the magnet 61 andthe yoke member 62 is formed with a resin material 63. The resinmaterial 63 prevents the magnet 61 and the yoke member 62 from cominginto contact with or closely contacting another metal member, andprevents another metal member from being magnetized. In addition, theresin material 63 prevents the medium P from contacting the magnet 61,thereby preventing damage to the medium P, and also keeps the distancebetween the medium P and the N pole of the magnet 61 constant.

The MICR head 70 detects a residual magnetic force of the MICR characterPc. The detected residual magnetic force is read as a magnetic propertyor a magnetic pattern and is output as an electric signal to the controlunit 20. By comparing the detected residual magnetic force with amagnetic property or a magnetic pattern of the MICR character Pc presetin the control unit 20, the MICR character Pc is identified.

The printing mechanism 90 includes an inkjet head 91 and a platen 92.The platen 92 is disposed so as to sandwich the conveyance path K withthe inkjet head 91.

In the printer 10 described above, magnetic ink reading and printing areperformed in the following manner. That is, the medium P is insertedthrough the slot 12 of the housing 11 such that the front surfaceprinted with the MICR character Pc faces downward. The inserted medium Pis conveyed toward a left side in FIG. 3 along the conveyance path K bythe conveyance mechanism 40.

When the medium P reaches the magnetizing mechanism 60, the MICRcharacter Pc passes through the magnetizing mechanism 60. At this time,the MICR character Pc is magnetized by the magnetic force of the magnet61. Here, the magnetic field generated by the magnet 61 is directed fromthe N pole of the magnet 61 to the S pole of the facing portion 62 c,and a very small magnetic field leaks to the outside of the magnetizingmechanism 60. Further, since the magnetic force is substantiallyconstant between the N pole of the magnet 61 and the S pole of thefacing portion 62 c, even if the distance between the N pole of themagnet 61 and the MICR character Pc varies due to vibration caused bythe motor 43, the residual magnetism of the MICR character Pc issubstantially constant.

When the medium P is conveyed to a right side in FIG. 3 by theconveyance mechanism 40 and thus the MICR character Pc reaches the MICRhead 70, the MICR head 70 detects the residual magnetic field generatedby the residual magnetism of the MICR character Pc. From the magneticproperty or the magnetic pattern of the residual magnetism, the MICRcharacter Pc is identified.

Next, when the medium P is conveyed to the right side in FIG. 3 by theconveyance mechanism 40 and thus the medium P reaches the printingmechanism 90, the inkjet head 91 performs printing such as “used” or“invalid” according to the determination result of the medium Pdescribed above.

The medium P, on which the printing is completed, is ejected from theslot 12 of the housing 11 by the conveyance mechanism 40.

According to the printer 10 described above, even if the vibrationoccurs due to the external disturbance of the motor 43, the residualmagnetism applied to the MICR character Pc does not fluctuate largely.That is, the magnetizing mechanism 60 can reliably apply the residualmagnetism to the MICR character under the stable magnetic field.Therefore, the MICR head 70 can read the residual magnetism with highaccuracy, and can minimize erroneous recognition or erroneousoccurrence. In addition, since the yoke member 62 is directly attachedto the magnet 61, the yoke member 62 can be formed of an inexpensivesoft magnetic material.

While some embodiments of the present invention have been described,these embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit thescope of the invention. These novel embodiments may be implemented invarious other forms, and various omissions, replacements, andmodifications may be made without departing from the scope and spirit ofthe invention. These embodiments and the modifications are included inthe scope and spirit of the invention, and are included in the inventiondescribed in the claims and their equivalents.

What is claimed is:
 1. A magnetic ink reader comprising: a conveyancemechanism configured to convey a sheet-like medium along a conveyancepath; a magnetizing mechanism configured to magnetize magnetic inkformed on the sheet-like medium conveyed thereto along the conveyancepath and including a magnet having a first side of a first magneticpolarity, that is arranged to face a first surface of the sheet-likemedium that is conveyed along the conveyance mechanism to themagnetizing mechanism, and a yoke that is formed of a soft magneticmaterial and includes a base portion attached directly to a second sideof the magnet, which is opposite to the first side, and an extensionportion extending from the base portion such that an end surface of theextension portion faces a second surface of the sheet-like medium, whichis opposite to the first surface; and a magnetic detection head disposedalong the conveyance path and configured to detect magnetism of themagnetized magnetic ink formed on the sheet-like medium, wherein a firstdistance between the conveyance path and the first side of the magnet isless than a second distance between the conveyance path and the endsurface of the yoke.
 2. The reader according to claim 1, wherein thesoft magnetic material is electrogalvanized steel.
 3. The readeraccording to claim 1, wherein the soft magnetic material is permalloy.4. The reader according to claim 1, wherein at least a part of the yokeand the magnet is formed of a resin material.
 5. The reader according toclaim 1, wherein the extension portion of the yoke includes a partitionwall that faces a side surface of the magnet in a direction that isperpendicular to a conveyance direction of the sheet-like medium.
 6. Aprinter comprising: a conveyance mechanism configured to convey asheet-like medium along a conveyance path; a magnetizing mechanismconfigured to magnetize magnetic ink formed on the sheet-like mediumconveyed thereto along the conveyance path and including a magnet havinga first side of a first magnetic polarity, that is arranged to face afirst surface of the sheet-like medium that is conveyed along theconveyance mechanism to the magnetizing mechanism, and a yoke that isformed of a soft magnetic material and includes a base portion attacheddirectly to a second side of the magnet, which is opposite to the firstside, and an extension portion extending from the base portion such thatan end surface of the extension portion faces a second surface of thesheet-like medium, which is opposite to the first surface; a magneticdetection head along the conveyance path and configured to detectmagnetism of the magnetized magnetic ink formed on the sheet-likemedium; and a printing mechanism disposed along the conveyance path andconfigured to print on the sheet-like medium, wherein a first distancebetween the conveyance path and the first side of the magnet is lessthan a second distance between the conveyance path and the end surfaceof the yoke.
 7. The printer according to claim 6, wherein the softmagnetic material is electrogalvanized steel.
 8. The printer accordingto claim 6, wherein the soft magnetic material is permalloy.
 9. Theprinter according to claim 6, wherein at least a part of the yoke andthe magnet is formed of a resin material.
 10. The printer according toclaim 6, wherein the extension portion of the yoke includes a partitionwall that faces a side surface of the magnet in a direction that isperpendicular to a conveyance direction of the sheet-like medium.